Olympic Games: Heat Stroke or Coronavirus – Symptoms That Can Be Confusing

The symptoms of heatstroke are similar COVID-19, something that worries first aid rescuers for the Tokyo Olympics this July.

While the organizers of the Games have relocated the marathon and walk to the northern city of Sapporo to keep temperatures lower, most races take place in Tokyo from July 23 to August 8, the peak of the hot and humid summer. .

However, Sapporo is currently in a state of emergency due to coronavirus in the midst of an increase in cases, reports APE-MPE, citing Reuters.

The northernmost island of Japan, where Sapporo is the largest city, has the second highest per capita incidence rate in Japan and about 43% higher than Tokyo.

Sapporo, which has a population of just under two million, bears almost two-thirds of the new cases.

“Medicine in the hot summer is so limited, even in the normal summer without them Olympic GamesSays Soji Yokobori, president of the emergency and critical care department at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, the oldest private medical school.

Shinji Nakahara, a public health specialist at Kanagawa University of Human Services, notes that medical teams are at risk of confusing a COVID-19 patient with someone with heatstroke, both of which are accompanied by high fever, dehydration and malaise.

“It can cause a difficult situation in the medical centers in every place (of the event),” says Nakahara.

The system of emergency medical services has already experienced the combination of heat stroke and COVID-19.

The so-called difficult-to-transport cases, where a patient transported by ambulance are discharged from multiple hospitals, more than doubled last summer from a year earlier.

Toshiro Muto, CEO of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, has announced that officials are working on ways to deal with heat stroke, which is considered a major health concern along with COVID-19.

In a study of heatstroke management during the pandemic, Yokoburi found that about four people were diagnosed with severe heatstroke out of 1,000 who later tested positive for coronavirus.

Although the ratio was virtual, the result was shocking, he said, because of the risks of nosocomial infections.

Olympic Games: How much does the use of a mask cost?

Aggravating the situation, the use mask, a key preventive measure against coronavirus, may increase body temperature in the midst of summer heat.

This puts not only spectators at risk, but also emergency rescuers, Yokoburi added, urging organizers to ban spectators from the Games.

Organizers have already banned spectators from abroad, but have not yet announced whether locals will be allowed to attend.

“When caring for patients with heatstroke we must also protect ourselves with heavy protective equipment because we can not distinguish COVID-19 from heatstroke. “This’s very stressful for us.”